Policing Emergencies and Police–Community Relations: Lessons from the COVID-19 Pandemic in Israel

Abstract

Purpose – Emergency situations are known to have significant effects on public attitudes toward the police. However, little is known about these effects over prolonged periods of time, and how they vary across different types of attitudes. Moreover, it is unclear what the root causes of fluctuations in public sentiments of the police in emergency situations are. The present chapter reviews the findings of a research project designed to address these questions.

Methodology/Approach – A three-wave panel survey carried out in Israel in the first three peaks (and corresponding lockdowns) of the COVID-19 pandemic: April, September and December, 2020.

Findings – Following what appears to be a rise in support for the police at the first peak of the pandemic, the authors find a significant drop in numerous types of attitudes in the second peak. Between the second and the third peaks, broad evaluations of the police (not directly related to the pandemic) stabilized, while some pandemic-specific attitudes continued to deteriorate. The drop in diffused support for the police was associated with participants’ assessments of the government’s performance in handling the pandemic.

Originality/Value – Beyond shedding light on fluctuations in public attitudes toward the police over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, these findings add to our more general understanding of what happens to the relationship between the police and the public in emergency situations.

Citation

Perry, G., Jonathan-Zamir, T. and Factor, R. (2023), "Policing Emergencies and Police–Community Relations: Lessons from the COVID-19 Pandemic in Israel", Deflem, M. (Ed.) Crime and Social Control in Pandemic Times (Sociology of Crime, Law and Deviance, Vol. 28), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 191-205. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1521-613620230000028013